Hebrew Monotheism

Interpretation of readings and questions Essay
Read “The Development of Hebrew Monotheism” and interpret the old testaments provided. Use the questions on the first page as a guide.
1. Is the Hebrew creation myth in genesis different in tone and intent from other myths you have read so far? What would account for any differences or similarities?
2. Identify the major recognizable features of the Hebrew God and religion in:
the Patriarchal period – 2000-1600BC (Genesis 17,18)
the Mosaic period – 1600-1200BC (Exodus 1,19,20)
the prophetic writings of Elijah, Jeremiah, and Esaiah-
800-600BC (1 Kings 18; Jeremiah 10,14-15; Isaiah 44-45)
3. Is there a change like and relationship with the deity through each of these periods?

Read the summary below, and the document’s pages attached and write your interpretation of the readings. The pages attached are the source needed! Do not do any more research.

Ancient Isreal and Near Eastern Empires

Summary
Our primary topic is the history of the ancient Hebrew people and their development of an entirely new religious concept in history: monotheism – the belief in the existence of only one god. As far as we can tell, virtually every culture and society on the planet since the Neanderthals has been polytheistic (worshiping many different gods). The Hebrews / ancient Israelites seem to have been the first to worship only one deity. This is a monumentally important historical development because from the Hebrew root grew three major world religions- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

A monotheistic deity is characterized by three things.
Universality- to be monotheistic, a deity must not be imminent in nature but must instead be out in the universe controlling nature for its own purpose.

International – if that deity is believed to be the only one to exist, then those who worship it must also believe that it is the god of all peoples. Exclusivity- those who worship the deity must state explicitly and unequivocally that no other deity exists – their deity is the Only deity, period. Once those three criteria are met, a deity is considered by scholars to be monotheistic.

In Hebrew history, scholars argue that the process was not overnight – in fact, most argue that the development of the Hebrew deity into monotheistic took over one thousand years. The general thesis when examining this development historically is that the trials and tribulations of the Hebrew monotheism took over one thousand years. The general thesis when examining this development historically is that the trials and tribulations of the Hebrew peoples in the course of their History from 2000-500BC forced the continuous re-evaluation of the nature of their deity and their relationship with that deity, which transformed that deity from a tribal god into a national god and ultimately into a monotheistic god.

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